Recently, Kevin Vaughan sent me some photos of the 1972 Jeep CJ-5 that his uncle Jim Vaughan used to race in the desert in the 70’s. I will let Kevin tell the story in his own words.
“In 1973, my uncle, Jim Vaughan, bought a 1972 Jeep CJ5 with a 304 V8 and a 3-speed. He dubbed her “Baby Blue” — for her color, and that was the CB handle he used. In 1976, he converted Baby Blue to a race car. It was a pretty typical home-built car: Smittybuilt cage, Simpson fuel cell, double shocks, strapped axels, Stroppe nerf bars front and back, KC lights. After two years of running, he and his co-driver, Keith Morgan, tore Baby Blue all the way down and rebuilt it with a tougher suspension, more wheel travel, more horsepower, MasterCraft racing seats and a new paint job. He was a pretty typical off-road racer of the time — running here and there, having a lot of fun, and spending a lot of his money on axles and other assorted parts that got mangled. He ran his last race in 1980.
I was able to go to several races in Colorado with him, and those were great times. Sometimes I fantasize about tracking Baby Blue down (her next owner was running her in mud bog races last a heard, but that was a long time ago) and restoring her to her original blue-and-yellow look, which I always liked the best.
I’ve attached photos (First 4 photos below)of Baby Blue in her pre-race-car days, after a collision with a baja bug broke a fuel line and sparked a big fire at the 1977 Mint 400, and in her new look for 1978. There’s also a shot of Baby Blue at the Colorado West 200 in 1977. My uncle’s friend, Bronco racer Rick Fliam, is sitting in the driver’s seat, and that’s me, at 13, in the passenger seat.”
Great story and awesome photos Kevin! I hope you find another CJ5 and restore it to be just like your uncles.
What ever happened to real off road racing , where Jeeps , class 1 ‘s and class 8 trucks ruled , its 2026 and I dont care for the Elites and their overhyped / overpriced Pro / trick . trophy trucks , just showing off their money IMHO , I was a pit captain for Dale sexton / Larry Wilcox class 8 team in late 79 early 80’s , in So . Cal. Loved and miss Baja to this day , Mint , Parker races , All that big company sponsorship money ruined it for the little guy , mom and pop family racers . IMHO . I’m sure most will disagree , But I see the Racer counts at BITD , SCORE etc and when I see 75 to 125 vehicles showing up and most all of them are factory sponsored , It tells me the sport has become an Elitests sport , I have talked to the top promotors about this for a few years now , and have been ignored , but when I see a third of the racers show up that we had 20 -30 year s ago and $7,000 entry fees it makes my point for me . I have raced a few times with all of them in the past and know what we have lost . Maybe someone will step up and invite the Class 9’s , 10.s, 11’s 12’s , 1600 ‘s 3’s , 4’s , 6’s 7’s , 7300’s , Stocks etc . with reasonable fees . we can go race in the desert for Bragging rights and Trophies again . Eldon Coats , coats and Coats racing , former [ BITD ] class 4100 / 3